Skirt hanger



W. C. ARTLEY July 18, 1950 SKIRT HANGER Filed June 19, 1946 Patented July 18, 1950 provide a woman's skirt hanger that is easily and quickly operated for attaching a skirt to it or removing a skirt from it.

A further object of my invention is to provide a-skirt hanger capable of accommodating skirts of various sizes.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a skirt hanger of simple construction and one that permits the skirt to be hung on an ordinary coat hanger, and inside the coat jacket supported by the coat hanger.

;A still further object of this invention is to provide a skirt hanger that is economical in manufacture and durable in use. i

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. l

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device showing a skirt supported thereon in dotted lines.

-Fig. 2 is a side view of the skirt hanger with dotted lines illustrating its adjustable features.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device holding a skirt and illustrating how the skirt is folded on the device.

. .-While there are many devices on the market for holding and supporting men's trousers, there are substantially no adequate devices for successfully supporting women's skirts, although the prevalence of the use of skirts has greatly increased in recent years. One of the problems in producing a skirt hanger was the fact that the circumference of skirts vary greatly and if suspended normally the average and larger size skirts cannot be placed in any manner on a coat hanger and inside the jacket without distorting and wrinkling the skirt. The problem was solved by providing a three-pronged adjustable device and folding the skirt once, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby making a relatively small width to the skirt at its top and permitting it to easily rest within the jacket. With my device a skirt may be easily and quickly secured for hanging purposes, which is in contrast to the usual method that women have of hanging skirts, i. e., the pinning of the skirt to the lower bar of a coat hanger with safety pins. Furthermore, with my device, the skirt hangs naturally and neatly without wrinkling.

In the drawings, I have used the numeral l ES PATEJN'T SKIRT "HANGER v v Wayne 0. Artley, Des Moines, Iowa "Application June 19, 1946, Serial No. 677,849 I 4 Claims. (01. 223-95) The principal object of this invention isto I OFFICE-v todesignate' the base member having a vertical slot extending completely longitudinally through it. This member may be made of any suitable sheet material and is preferably of bar design, as shown in the drawings. The numerals I land l2 designate two skirt engaging fingers extending from the bottom right side of the member I!) first outwardly and away from each other and then downwardly. By this construction the two fingers l I and I2 are spaced apart and have their outer right edges extending downwardly and slightly to the right to form with the base member l 0 an angle somewhat less than a right angle, as shown in Fig. 2. These members H and I2 may be secured to or'be an integral part of the member II] when it is formed. The numeral [3 designates a bar slidably mounted inthe base member and having a downwardly extending skirt engaging finger l4 near its outer left end, as shown in'Fig. 1. This finger I4 is similar to the fingers H and I2 except that its outer left engaging edge extends downwardly and slightly to the left to form an angle with the bar l3 less than a right angle. The finger M is placed slightly back of the extreme outer end of the bar 13 to form a shoulder l5 for limiting the upward movement of the fold of the skirt when it is placed on the device. Likewise, the fingers I land [2 are slightly back of the extreme right end of the base Hi. In order that the three fingers will more securely hold and support the skirt, notches l6 may be placed in the outer marginal edges of the fingers. Also, if desired, an outwardly and laterally extending rounded projection 11 may be placed on the lower end portion of each of the fingers. These features of the fingers, with the fact that they extend down-'- wardand outwardly, insure the successful holding of the skirt on the device. The numeral l8 designates a hook member secured to the bottom left end portion of the base ID by a rivet l9, as shown in Fig. 2. This rivet extends through the base and its slot opening. The numeral 20 designates a hook portion formed on the upper end of the hook member [8 and extending transversely thereof. The hook member I8 is designed to go over a supporting closet bar, while the hook portion 20 is designed to engage the lower horizontal bar 2| of an ordinary coat hanger. When not in use, the hook member I 8 may be folded downwardly, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The numeral 22 designates ratchet teeth on the under side of the bar l3 and extending downwardly and to the right. These ratchet teeth are capable of engaging that portion of the rivet l9 that extends through the slot opening of the base member. These ratchet teeth do not extend to the right end of the bar l3 and are in a plane above the plane of the lower marginal edge of the right end portion of the bar 13. By this construction, the rivet l9 not only holds the hook member and engages the ratchet teeth at times, but prevents the complete withdrawal of the bar member after the device has been assembled by engagement with the bottom of the bar near its right end portion. The numeral 23 designates a handle member formed on the upper left end portion of the bar 13. The width of the bar 13 is less than the height of the slot opening in the base member in order to permit the easy reciprocation of the bar in the base member and to permit the ratchet teeth to ride over the rivet 19 when desired.

To use my device, it is merely necessary to but ton or fasten the top of the skirt 24 and fold it once, as shown in Fig. 3, to provide two loops for the skirt supporting fingers H and I2 and a forward loop for the finger 14. These three fingers may be easily and quickly inserted in the skirt, as shown in Fig. 3, and the base member and bar are manually moved away from each other until the skirt is tightly stretched on and around the three engaging fingers. By merely releasing the outward movement of the bar 13 from a base It! the ratchet teeth will engage the rivet I9 and prevent the relative movement of the bar I3 to the right inside the base. The handle'23'may be used in this operation. It will be found that the skirt is neatly and securely held on the device and it is merely necessary to then hang the device on the bar of a coat hanger or-on a clothes supporting rod. To remove the skirt, it is merely necessary to take hold of the base member and lift upwardly on the outer end of the bar so that the bar can slide inwardly and over the rivet, at which time the skirt will fall from the skirt supporting fingers. Obviously, the larger the skirt the further the bar will be moved outwardly from within the base member, thereby automatically compensating for any size skirt. It will be noted that one of the features of my device is that it may be stamped from sheet material except, of course, the rivet l9 and that no springs are necessary. The complete device is assembled at time of manufacture by a single rivet.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my improved skirt hanger without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope. I claim:

1. In a' device of the class described, a base member having an opening extending through it, a bar member slidably mounted in said base member and having ratchet teeth on its lower marginal edge, two spaced apart garment engaging fingers on said base member, a garment engaging finger on said bar member, a hook member, and a means extending through said base member for securing said hook member thereto and for engaging said ratchet teeth at times.

2. In a device of the class described, a base member having an opening extending through it, a bar member slidably mounted in said base member and having ratchet teeth on its lower marginal edge, a downwardly and outwardly extending finger on said base member, a downwardly and outwardly extending finger on said bar member, a hook member, and a means extending through said base member for securing said hook member thereto and for engaging said ratchet teeth at times.

3. In a device of the class describecLa base member having'an opening extending through it, a bar member slidably mounted in said base member having ratchet teeth on its lower center marginal edge, a downwardly and forwardly extending finger on the lower front end portion of said bar member; said bar member and said finger being fiat and of one piece and having its rear end portion of slightly greater width than its center portion adjacent the ratchet teeth, a downwardly andrearwardly extending finger on said base member, a hook member and a pin extending through said base member for securing said hook member thereto, for engaging said ratchet teeth at times, and for engaging the greater width portion of said bar member at times for preventing the complete removal of said bar member from said base member.

4. In a device of the'class described, a base member having an opening extending through it, a bar member slidably mounted in said base member and having ratchet teeth on its lower marginal edge, a fingeron said base member, a finger on said bar member, and a pin in said base member capable of being engaged by the ratchet teeth of said bar member at times.

" WAYNE C. ARTLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 1,900,826 Lindsay Mar. '7, 1933 1,922,858 Page Aug. 15, 1933 2,165,129 Clark July 4, 1939 2,230,301 Kirkegaard -1 Feb. 4, 1941 2,364,619 Bushko Dec. 12, 1944 

